


A Second Chance

by YvY91



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Good Guy Quentin Beck, Hero Quentin Beck, Hurt Quentin Beck, Hurt/Comfort, Near Death Experiences, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Quentin Beck Has Powers, Whump, Worried Peter Parker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-10-11 09:15:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20543729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YvY91/pseuds/YvY91
Summary: They may have won the battle against the Fire Elemental, but for Quentin Beck the real fight had only just begun.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Well...I haven't seen the movie yet, but still wanted to write something because Peter needs a hug. Sooo, no evil Quentin Beck in my house, please and thank you. In this story, he really came from a different dimension to help, and told the truth.

Quentin felt himself reaching his limits, the fight against the Elemental was getting much more difficult with each second that passed. Now, floating mid-air, he let his eyes roam over the form of Peter. The teen didn't look too good either, and Quentin was overcome by grief, if he didn't win now, Peter would die, as well as the rest of the world.

Like his own world did. He couldn't let that happen. He couldn't allow himself to fail again...

Sacrificing himself to save this world was a small price to pay in comparison to the devastation that was about to befall this world.

And if Quentin was honest with himself, what did he have to lose? There was nothing for him to return to and probably nothing to look forward to either. No one really knew him in this world, and Quentin had no one in this dimension.

No one who would wait for him, or miss him if he died now.

Unexpectedly, the image of Peter Parker came to his mind, causing Quentin to falter in his movements. He shook his head to keep himself concentrated and set his eyes on the Elemental in front of him again.

Quentin had made up his mind as he gathered all of his remaining power for this one last attack, and when he flew towards the Fire Elemental, he was prepared to die in the next few seconds.

The moment he collided with the Elemental's solid heat, his shield weakened immediately, until it flickered to nothing. His armor dented inwards from the power of his magic reverberating around him, and Quentin choked on his breath as his helmet shattered, casing hot air and smoke to flood his lungs, making his eyes burn.

With one last desperate push, he forced out every bit of magic he possessed.

The noise that followed was deafening. Green light filled his vision before he collided with the hard concrete below him, causing his armor around his chest to stab even further into his flesh with a squelching sound.

Then everything around him fell silent. On the ground, Quentin lay on his right side, tensing his muscles to keep himself as still as possible. He was aware that his mind was in shock, if it was due to the suddenly magical depletion, or due the injuries done to his body, he wasn't sure of yet.

His mind and lungs begged for air and he carefully tried to take a deep breath to fill his lungs, just this small movement had apparently been enough to spark a fire inside him, all consuming. Raging through him like nothing he ever felt before.

The pain was mind-numbing, and for a second Quentin wished for death to take him immediately, just to let all of this suffering finally end.  
  
To let him get rest and piece.  
  
Sounds of someone approaching made him aware that unconsciousness was apparently not within reach yet, and when hands landed on his right arm and on his side, Quentin forced his eyes to small slits. He saw Peter sitting on the ground next to him. The boy repeatedly called his name while he squeezed Quentin's arm until he turned Quentin on his back.

"Mister Beck, are you alright?" Peter's voice managed to reach into his foggy mind.  
  
"Peter..." was all Quentin could get out as an answer, the rest was drowned out by a mixture between a groan and whine.  
  
He blinked a couple of times in hope to clear his vision a bit, his sight kept flickering, but Quentin wasn't sure if it was because of the little burning pieces of rubble scattered all over the ground around them, or if his mind was playing tricks on him due to the lack of oxygen.  
  
Quentin could hear more people now, and Peter moved away from his side, to kneel down on the ground next to Quentin's head, where he placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing ever so slightly.  
  
"Beck, can you look at me? It's me, Peter. Are you alright?...Wait...What...?" Quentin felt Peter lean over him and the hand, that was on his shoulder one moment ago, landed on his chest just to be pulled away immediately, followed by an outcry.

"Oh shit, is that blood...? You're bleeding...Help!!! Hey, Beck needs help, he is bleeding!!! HELP!!!" Peter's voice got louder with each word that left the teens' mouth.

The kid's panicked voice triggered a small energy spike within him, and Quentin gathered the little bit of awareness he had left. "It's okay...Pete..," he swallowed heavily "...I'm so sorry..." his last word was followed by a sigh.

"Beck. BECK?! Quentin? Stay with me, please. Open your eyes and stay awake. Please, Quentin. No... no...not again..." Something wet hit Quentin's face, and an arm was pushed under his head and shoulder, lifting him up a little, it felt nice. Warmer and softer then the hard ground.

He felt himself slipping, his tense muscles finally slackened. Peter's voice was still there, full of concern.

Then there were other voices too, asking him to open his eyes.

When had he closed his eyes?

What was going on?

He couldn't remember, he started to drift away when the pain finally turned to a dull throb.

Someone moved him around, screamed at him, but it wasn't enough to keep him awake any longer.

Then he knew nothing..._was nothing._


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I'm so sorry for the long wait. I kept writing the second chapter again and again...I hope it was worth it, if not, scream at me in the comments, or let me know if you enjoyed it. :)

Time didn't seem to exist in the vast expanse of blackness that surrounded Quentin, the man himself was gripped tight by the cold that dragged him along endlessly. Sometimes it seemed like there was a light flickering in the distance that Quentin felt drawn to it, but never was able to reach before it disappeared into nothingness again.

It went like this for an indefinite amount of time and Quentin had given up on fighting against the current that carried him away until something warm pressed around him. It was not uncomfortable, quite the opposite really and enough to rouse him from his unconsciousness.

Quentin blinked his blue eyes open with the realization that he was, indeed, not dead, and for a moment he wasn't sure if he should be happy about it or not. 

For a few moments he was in a daze like state. He tried to recall the last thing he could remember and when he did, his thoughts went to Peter immediately. How distraught the teenager had been before Quentin had lost his grip on reality. Sunken in thoughts his mind decided to remind him of the warmth that still lingered to his left and Quentin jerked his head around with a hiss.

A small figure rested on the bed beside him, with the back turned towards Quentin. The man's jumbled mind needed a second to recognize who that person beside him was.

Peter Parker

The older man could only see slight movements of Peter's shoulder going up and down with each inhale and exhale, the kid seemed to have fallen asleep quite deeply. He tried to remember if Peter had gotten hurt in their fight against the Elemental, but he couldn't remember it clearly. A few minutes went by while Quentin did nothing but watch. Peter had made himself so small, he looked even younger than just 16 years old, and it tore at Quentin's heart when he reminded himself what this child already went through in his short life.

Quentin raised his left arm and started to let his fingertips glide through the short brown strands of Peter's hair. He smiled to himself, if he was to be honest, he liked this moment very much. Everything was silent, except muted sounds outside the room. There was no screaming, no fighting and he was relatively pain free, even Peter seemed to be fine, at least physically.

Looking back to the first time he met Peter Parker, he wondered how this kid had manage to get under his skin so fast? The moment Quentin had looked at the teenager, the urge to protect Peter grew with each day that passed.

"Quentin?" Peter mumbled sleepily, causing the older to let out a small snort.

"So, you do know my name? And here I thought you just kept calling me _Beck_ to annoy me," Quentin had to force the words out, his throat was so dry, it made his voice sound even rougher than usual.

Peter's head suddenly jerked upward along with the rest of his body, just to disappear over the edge of Quentin's bed. As soon as Peter fell down, he was up again and it would have been hilarious for Quentin if not for Peter's brown eyes drowning in tears.

"You ok, kid?" Quentin asked, or rather growled at Peter, and the teenager handed him a cup of water which the older man downed greedily.

In the meantime, Peter had dropped down onto a chair beside his bed and sniffed a few times. "I'm sorry I fell asleep on your bed..." Peter's face flushed with embarrassment and he went on before Quentin could tell him not to apologize for such a thing. "And yes, I'm fine, but you weren't. You were unconscious for almost two weeks now. You really scared me, Beck."

"Quentin."

Peter drew his eyebrows together in confusion, "What?"

The older man couldn't suppress a small laugh. "Peter, please call me Quentin, and I'm sorry I scared you. It wasn't my intention at all. What happened after... you know," Quentin let his hands move through the air, "The fight with the Elemental, did we win?"

Peter nodded in response before he looked to the ground. "Yes, but you were badly hurt. The armor around your chest was so badly damaged it cut into you. You were bleeding heavily and then you just stopped breathing and...and I thought you died..." large teardrops ran down Peter's face now and Quentin's felt his heart turn heavy at the sight. He hated seeing Peter so distraught and sad.

"Pete, c'mon stop crying. Look at me, I'm fine now. Kid, hey it's alright." Quentin kept talking, but he didn't seem to get Peter to hear a single word of it, so the older man reached over to take one of Peter's hands in his own, and pulled at it slightly. Quentin shifted around on the bed to make more room and carefully pulled the teen towards him until Peter climbed onto the bed. Quentin wrapped his arms around the boy and pressed Peter's face against his shoulder. Heavy chocked out sobs worked through Peter while hot tears seeped into the older man's shirt.

Quentin didn't say anything, he wasn't sure if Peter could hear him anyway right now so he rubbed his hands over the teens' back in hope it would help to calm him down at least somewhat. Peter's emotions were getting to him too, he could feel the sting of tears at the corners of his own eyes, but he didn't dare to let them out. 

Minutes went by until Peter's crying went down to a slight sniffle and he mumbled something unrecognizable against Quentin's shoulder.

"What was that, Pete?" the older man whispered against Peter's strand of hair.

"...'m sorry for crying on you like that. I'm just so glad you are alright." Quentin needed a moment to collect himself, the teen's emotional outburst had overwhelmed him slightly and he drew his arms even closer around Peter with the realization that it wasn't just Peter he tried to calm down, but also himself. "It's okay, don't worry about it, kid. Get some rest, you look like you need it." Comfortable silence filed the air around them and it didn't take long until Peter fell asleep with his head tucked underneath Quentin's chin.

The blue-eyed man could still feel how small tremors worked through Peter's body even while the kid was asleep, and after a while exhaustion grabbed him and he fell asleep too. 

° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° °

When he woke up next he was alone.

The medical team examined him later that day. They told him that his condition had greatly improved in the last two weeks of unconsciousness, but his magic was still very weak, and he would have a some scars where the metal of his armor had stabbed into him.

Nevertheless, they discharged him and for the first time since arriving in this dimension Quentin hadn't had a plan on how to continue. The Elementals were destroyed and Quentin himself was still alive, but he couldn't return to his own dimension either. It was then that Fury approached him, asking him to keep fighting for them and to aid Peter if need should arise. Quentin readily agreed, happy to have at least something he could help with, and Fury gave him an address where he could stay in the meantime.  


A small frown worked over his face when he saw the address, it was the Sanctum Sanctorum in New York. In a way, it made sense to send him there, for Quentin was a magic user himself, even if it seemed that he was the only one on this dimension to use this kind.

He knew Dr. Stephen Strange, the man also existed in his previous dimension and when he saw him here for the first time, after he entered the Sanctum and explained why Fury send him, Quentin stopped in his tracks. 

Maybe it was the way of how they met before, the first time he got to know Strange it was after the first fight against the Elementals. The loss and constant battles had already taken their toll on the man then. Here and now, Strange seemed to be a very different man, deep lines of worry were gone from his face, eyes more alive than Quentin had ever seen before. 

_This_ Stephen was more open-minded and more kind, so Quentin decided to stay, they talked and learned from each other about the differences in their magical abilities. A few days turned to almost two weeks in which Quentin neither saw nor heard of Peter, by then he was healed completely, and decided to go look for the kid.

Quentin had a hunch were Peter might be, and it didn't take too long to find him. Flying to the edge of a building he saw Peter sitting there, feet dangling over rim of the rooftop, staring up at the sky.

"Hey, kid," the older man sat himself down beside the teen, "How are you doing, Peter? Haven't seen you since the day I fist woke up." Peter looked at him, there was a look in those brown eyes that send a shiver down the older man's spine.

He couldn't really place the emotions that were etched into Peter's face, but he didn't like them at all. He raised on arm to place it over the teens shoulder and stopped himself when he saw how tense Peter got. "Peter, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, everything is just fine," mumbled Peter while he sat himself down more to the right, increasing the distance between them.

Quentin was confused. What was going on?

Did he make Peter uncomfortable? Had he gone too far the day in the hospital, when he pulled Peter onto the bed beside him? It hadn't been his intention at all. 

Quentin sat still, feeling the cool hard ground underneath him until he felt something break inside him, but he pushed it aside and he let out muffled sigh, "Peter, I really don't know what is going on right now, and if this is my fault, if I said something, or made you uncomfortable in any way, I'm sorry." He took another look at Peter, who finally looked up again.

"Wait...What are you talking about?" Peter turned his body towards Quentin faster than the man thought it was possible and he almost leaned back in surprise by the sudden movement. 

Brown eyes were fixed on him now and for a few seconds no one moved until Quentin let out another sigh. "Well, I didn't see you in the last two weeks and right know my mere presence doesn't seem to make you overly happy either. I- I don't know..." his voice started to waiver at the end. He swallowed and tried to get his emotions back under control. 

Why was he so affected by this? If he was honest with himself, he didn't know Peter that well, they hadn't spent much time together, but just the thought of being alone again almost drove him to tears. He mentally cursed himself, he was a grown man, and here he was, sitting on the edge of a building trying to keep his composure. 

Peter seemed to notice Quentin's sudden change in attitude as well, and the look Peter had in his eyes since the moment the man had set food onto the building vanished, only to be replaced by worry.

Peter shook his head, brown strands of hair were thrown from right to left by the movement.

"I - You didn't do anything wrong. It's just..." Peter stopped to collect his thoughts, "I feel like I'm always get too attached to the people in my life, you know? I'm supposed to be Spiderman, I'm supposed to be strong and yet I fail at keeping the people I care about save when it matters the most, I - " Quentin couldn't believe the nonsense the teen spewed and interrupted Peter before he had the chance to utter another word.

"Listen kid, and listen well. _Yes_ you're Spiderman and _yes_ the responsibilities you carry with each day you go out there to save someone can be a burden. But never think that it would be better, or easier, to keep everyone out of your life just to keep them safe. Believe me when I tell you it won't work like that." 

Quentin never let his eyes stray away from Peter's face, he wanted to make sure that he had the teen's full attention right now, "And never ever think you are clingy or too attached to people because that's _exactly_ what makes you so special, Peter. And I'm sure there will be a point when you realize that _this_ is a good thing. Okay, kid?" 

Peter nodded in response and scooted towards him, they sat so close against each other that Quentin felt Peter almost lean against his side. A few moments went by until Peter let out a quietly whispered, "Thank you", that disrupted the silence around them and Quentin knew that he would have to talk to Peter again. 

He would do so until he was sure that Peter really believed him, but for now the both of them gazed to the ground below, letting the minutes pass by until the sun went down. 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it, I'm always happy to hear your thoughts :)


End file.
